Alphabet Soup
by AndSoTheyMet
Summary: She smiled in an attempt to be seductive, but her shaky grin only served to be unbearably cute. Maybe he was a little drunk too.
1. Annoying

**A is for Annoying**

Uchiha Sasuke buttoned another button up on his long jacket. The tips of his ears were a light pink, stinging from the bitter cold. He shivered.

On this particular December morning, Sasuke was on his way to the hospital. His weekly check-up was due, and he was not looking forward to it. Frowning, he closed the door to his apartment.

_Annoying…_

He hated this time of the week. No, wait, _hated_ was too strong a word. More like, he strongly wished he was somewhere else every time he went. Or maybe, he enjoyed it so thoroughly it scared him and he wished he were somewhere else.

Stuffing his keys back into his pocket, he sighed once more. Today was gonna be a long day…

-o-

Haruno Sakura sighed. Today was gonna be a long day.

First, she locked herself out of her apartment, freezing to death in the process. Then, once she had called her boss and told her she was gonna be a little late, she had _accidentally_ blown up her hair dryer. So, after cleaning up the black pieces of burnt plastic, Sakura had fallen face-first out of her door, tripping on a non-existent something.

Stomping into her office, she closed the door and sat in her wonderful spinning chair. She loved that chair…

Opening her eyes slightly to view the calendar, she almost fell out of her wonderful spinning chair.

Tuesday.

_Tuesday._

_**TUESDAY!!**_

"Noooo!"

Mourning her misfortune, Sakura proceeded to tug on her hair and spin around several times. Slumping her shoulders, she lazily got out of her chair.

"I'm so not in the mood for Sasuke-kun today…"

Slamming her head on the door on the way out, Sakura made her way down to the hospital's clinic, long pink hair swinging behind her.

-o-

The young blonde nurse looked up from her desk. Blushing furiously, she stuttered out the next few words.

"G-good morning, S-S-Sasuke-kun!"

"Just sign me in, lady."

She smiled widely, ignoring his scowl and angry tone. "O-of course, Sasuke-kun!"

Uchiha Sasuke really, _really_ didn't want to be here. If it wasn't this creepy receptionist hitting on him, it was some other nurse, or a teenager, or the old lady who waited for him by the door every Tuesday. Shuddering, he made his way down the hall to Exam Room 4.

Once safely inside, Sasuke peeled off his coat and sat down on the exam table. Goosebumps raised on his skin at the chilly air. Bored, he sat back and put his hands behind his head.

The door creaked open, and caused Sasuke to bolt up. If it was that old lady again…

Instead, pink greeted his sight. Sighing, he laid back down.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun."

He frowned. Her usual chipper voice was quiet and monotone today. He sat up again.

"Sakura."

She turned to face him. His onyx eyes were fixated on her. It took all her willpower not to blush.

"Yes?"

"…"

"Sasuke-kun?"

"Never mind."

He turned away from her. Rolling her eyes at him, Sakura walked towards him and pulled out her stethoscope. She lifted his shirt up.

"Breathe, Sasuke-kun."

So he did. Sakura listened to his heart and lungs as he filled them with air. Moving around, she finally pulled back.

"Turn around, Sasuke-kun."

Now she listened to his back. This is how it always went. Sasuke had a weak respiratory system, and Sakura was his designated nurse. She told him what to do, and he did it. They worked quietly and efficiently. Sakura enjoyed the feeling of helping him out, and being able to care for him. Sasuke enjoyed the feel of her fingers, leaving butterfly trails as she listened to his heartbeat.

Pulling his shirt back down, Sakura frowned down at him.

"Sasuke-kun, this is supposed to be getting better as you get older. Have you been outside training again?"

Sasuke looked up at her.

"…"

"Sasuke-kun…"

"Hn." He smirked. "You're annoying."

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "You have! I told you, you'll be admitted here if you keep up all that training stuff! One more check-up like this and you'll be eating hospital food for a month."

Sasuke stood up. "Are you okay?"

Startled, Sakura looked up at him. "Y-yeah, why?"

"You're not all… happy."

Sakura looked at him, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Most days you're all happy and bubbly, but today… You seem sad. It's annoying."

Sakura, by now, was so confused it hurt. "I'm just tired today, Sasuke-kun."

"You know, I get up early every Tuesday morning, dreading the day. The only thing that makes it somewhat better is to see you. But now, I'm really annoyed because you aren't even happy. So, quit being tired. Now."

Sakura grinned. "I make your day better?"

Sasuke blushed, but only slightly. "Yeah."

And, for the first time in years, Uchiha Sasuke was hugged. Sakura wrapped her arms around him, snuggling her face into his chest. Awkwardly, Sasuke put his hands on the small of her back.

"You make my day better too." She mumbled.

Pulling back, she smiled up at him. "Better?"

"Yeah."

"You know what, Sasuke-kun? I think I'm beginning to like Tuesdays."

Pause.

"You're annoying."

-o-

**Yeah, yeah, I know it's not that great. AU is not really my strong suit, but… I tried!!**

**I'm hoping to have a story for each letter of the alphabet. Coming soon:**

**B is for Bologna.**


	2. Bologna

**B is for Bologna**

21-year-old Sakura slammed the fridge shut again. She was standing in her kitchen, opening and closing the door as if her life depended on it.

Sakura was angry.

Not just angry, but infuriated.

Who had taken all of her precious bologna? She was 7 months pregnant, for Kami's sake! Who in the _heck _had taken her bologna?

Biting down on her lip hard enough to draw blood, Sakura wondered back down the hall towards her bedroom. Her stupid, lazy husband was out for the day, who knows where, and here she was. Pregnant and hungry. Bad combo.

Once she had reached the bedroom, she pulled off her pajamas and put on her over-sized shirt and soft shorts. Strapping on her sandals and pulling her hair up into a messy bun, Sakura made her way out the door and to the Hokage's office.

_Might as well get something done…_

**-o-**

"You _what?!_"

Tsunade felt her blood run cold. Her little (not so much) apprentice could be very scary.

"I said, we gave away our last reserves this morning."

"Of bologna?! Who the _heck_ wants Konoha's last reserves of _bologna!!_? Why do we even have _reserves_ of bologna?!?"

Sakura tugged on her ears in frustration. If she didn't get any bologna soon, she'd go crazy.

Tsunade frowned at Sakura. "It was for a mission."

Wrong thing to say.

"A _mission_??! A freakin' _MISSION_?!? What kind of mission? A bologna mission?! What kind of Hokage are you?!"

"Sakura! Why don't you just go buy some from the store in the square?"

"Why don't you!!"

Sakura glared childishly at her sensei, then turned heel and stalked away from her. Tsunade sighed deeply.

"I don't know how much more of this I can take."

Shizune laughed from her hiding place behind the bookshelf (though she doubted that could stop Sakura).

"What was it last week? I don't remember."

Tsunade glared up at her from her helpless position on her desk.

"It was chocolate pocky."

**-o-**

Sakura wished she still craved pocky. That week was the most energetic she had ever felt. She had eaten enough chocolate to kill someone.

As she neared the marketplace, Sakura felt a crooked smile spreading on her face and an evil laugh rising in her throat.

This was gonna be fun!

**-o-**

The sound of people screaming in terror could only mean one thing.

He had forgotten to feed Sakura.

Slamming his tools down, the dark-haired man leaped gracefully down from the scaffolding and proceeded to run into the city, headed for the drugstore to buy all the chocolate pocky they had.

**-o-**

Sakura threw package after package of ham on the tiled floor of the superstore. Frantically searching for her precious bologna, she was biting her lip and running up and down the aisle.

"Hello!! Customer in need! Anyone plan on helping me?"

The cashiers looked uneasily toward one another.

"You help her!"

"No, you go!"

"Don't you know who that is?"

"She'll kill you!"

Their whispers, thankfully, failed to catch her ears. They might not've been alive if they had. One employee, though, seemed to like to live dangerously.

The young man approached Sakura as she started in on the sausages. "Ma'am? What are you looking for?"

Sakura turned. "What am I looking for? _What am I LOOKING for??!_"

The teenager cowered.

"I'm looking for some freakin' bologna because I'm hungry!! You've never seen a pregnant woman hungry before?! Find me some! Now!"

He scampered off.

"Ugh, nevermind! You idiots! I should sue this freakin' store for everything you're worth! You're supposed to provide necessities for your customers! I NEED BOLOGNA!!"

And with that, Sakura again turned heel and left the destroyed store in her wake.

**-o-**

He found her at home, slamming the fridge open and closed. Slapping his forehead, he made his way over to her.

"Sakura?"

She turned at the sound of his voice. Running to him, she clutched his middle and buried her head in his chest. "I'm s-s-so hungry!"

"Good. I brought you something."

Pulling the huge pack of pocky out of his pocket, he laid it on her lap. She stared at it quizzically before breaking out into a fit of giggles.

"What?"

"Y-you… I don't want pocky anymore!"

Sighing in despair, he fell to his knees. "Then what do you want?"

Wiping tears of laughter from her eyes, she frowned. "Bologna. I NEED bologna."

For a fraction of a second, Sakura swore she saw fear cross through his eyes. The she realized he didn't have emotions. "B-bologna?"

She nodded vigorously.

"Um, Saku, I don't think you'll be able to have any of that."

Mood changing dangerously, Sakura glared at him. "Why not?"

"Um, I had this mission this morning…"

**-o-**

_Tsunade pulled him into her office forcefully. "Is Sakura with you?"_

_Smiling his fake smile, he shook his head. "No."_

_Tsunade eased. "Ok, good. I have a mission for you. You know old Nuri Tamya? Well, he's off his rocker, but he's stinkin' rich. He came in this morning, asking for our best artist to create him a statue. He offered 5,000,000 yen."_

"_Oh? That will be easy, Tsunade-baa."_

_Glaring at his use of the nickname Naruto gave her, she frowned. _

"_Not… exactly. He wants it to be a giant platypus. Made out of… bologna."_

**-o-**

"So, Tsunade had all our bologna reserves emptied for the mission."

Sakura, who had stayed unnaturally silent, stood up. Clutching her bulging stomach, she made her way to the door.

"Sakura? Where are you going?"

"To find that scorpion!"

"Sakura!"

**-o-**

"So, Sai-teme, you can't even control your own wife? Aren't you supposed to be some excellent ninja?"

Sai frowned. "You know how Sakura is, dickless."

The two were cleaning up the supermarket that Sakura trashed. Naruto snickered as he leaned on his broom. "Imagine your child."

Sai never forgot to feed Sakura again.

**-o-**

**So, I liked this one better than the last. And… it's longer! Yay!**

**Read & Review, my sweets!**


	3. Crushing

**C is for Crushing**

"G-g-good morning, Sasuke-kun."

The dark haired boy looked down at the girl currently holding a flower out to him. He frowned.

"Is this for me?"

The girl finally looked up. Seeing the look on his face, her lower lip trembled.

"Yes, Sasuke-kun."

"Well, I don't want it. Aniki says that flowers are sissy, and I'm gonna be a great shinobi someday. Flowers aren't for shinobi!"

Her big blue eyes spilled over. "But, S-Sasuke-kun! This is a special flower! M-my momma helped me pick it out s-s-specially for you!"

"No!"

And the young boy ran away from the park, headed for town. The little girl sat down on the ground sadly. She looked at the flower in her hand.

"Ino-chan?"

Ino looked up as the other boy approached. She cried harder, clutching to him as soon as he sat down next to her.

"S-Shikamaru! H-he didn't like it!"

He rolled his eyes. "Ino-chan, you're only 5. You'll have other chances to change his mind."

"He doesn't l-like me, Shika! He won't!"

"Well then, he's not the only boy out there."

"But… he's my crush!"

"Crush?"

Ino wiped her eyes. "Yes, Shika, my crush! You can't just stop crushing on somebody! It's… special!"

He rolled his eyes again.

Ino frowned at him. "Well, you're 5 too! You're a stupid boy who wouldn't understand! Sasuke-kun's 6, he's smarter than you!"

"I doubt that."

"B-but still!"

Ino twirled the pretty daisy in her hand. She cried as she put it on the ground. "I don't want it anymore!"

Shikamaru patted her head softly. "If I take you flower, will you stop crying?"

The blonde turned her eyes upon him. "Um, s-sure."

**-o-**

When the sun set on the park, there were no children left. The swings were empty, the sandbox left in disarray. Nothing but the sun casting long shadows throughout the area.

Ino had long gone home, set on picking out another flower for her crush.

Shikamaru had walked home later, holding his wilting daisy. He was glad it was dark, because he was sure he was blushing. His mom said so as soon as he walked in the door.

From that day on, Ino had a new crush.

**-o-**

**Yeah, so it's short and not very good. I hope I can do better next time. So…**

**Next up is **

**D is for Darling**

**R&R, my friends.**


	4. Darling

**D is for Darling**

**So, here it is. Enjoy!**

**:O**

If there was one thing Haruno Sakura loved more than anything else it was the rain. Right now, said rain was pouring outside her window, making trails of water on the foggy glass. She sighed contentedly.

Sakura was perched on her windowsill, peering out at the empty street before her as she took in all that was the rain. She pressed her forehead to the cool glass, hugging herself as goose bumps rose on her arms.

Standing and stretching, she listened quietly to the pitter-patter of the storm against her home. Smiling to herself, she headed down the stairs and into her kitchen, intent on making herself some dinner.

**:P**

Uchiha Sasuke hated the rain. It was so cold and… _wet_. It chilled him to the bone, and seriously messed up his (gorgeous) hair (its number _one_ offense).

To put it simply, the rain was too much of a hassle.

For instance, here he was. Standing in the cursed rain, clothes hanging limp and heavy on his lean (yet muscular) frame. His hair was matted to his head, and his shoes were full of water and mud. His left arm was held captive as Naruto dragged him through the village.

"Why won't you just let me walk by myself, dobe?"

Naruto scowled at him. "'Cuz I know you're gonna leave as soon as I let you go, teme. And stop calling me that!"

Cursing silently to himself, the young Uchiha allowed himself to be led around Konoha. "Where are we going again, dobe?"

Naruto stopped for a second to turn and poke Sasuke in the forehead. "Sakura-chan's, stupid! It's Tuesday. We always go to Sakura-chan's on Tuesday!"

"Hn." (He knew for a fact it was Sunday, but chose to ignore said fact for… err, personal reasons. Yeah, that was it.)

"Sakura-chan's always on top of things. Just come!" Naruto said, a hint of childishness in his voice.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, letting himself think and try to ignore the water invading his personal space. Images of his pink-haired teammate immediately flashed in his mind. She _had_ been on his mind a lot lately. Probably because she had stopped being so obsessive. Or maybe it was the fact that she had grown into an unbelievably strong and beautiful kunochi.

…Wait. _Beautiful?_ Since when did he think of her as beautiful?

Storing the thought in his brain for further digestion, he focused back on the here and now as they stopped in front of her door.

**:)**

"You've got to be joking."

Naruto frowned as he rung out his shirt. "But, Sakura-chan! We always come on Tuesdays!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, annoyance written all over her face. "For one, it's raining, Naruto. And secondly, it's freakin' Sunday!"

Grinning sheepishly at her, Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Oops."

"You're damn straight, 'oops'. I ought to send you back out there in the rain and let you catch cold!"

"Sakura-chan! But I'm hungry!"

Sighing in defeat, Sakura raised her hands in the air. "Whatever, do what you want. I'm making chicken and noodle soup, so I guess I'll make you guys some too."

Throwing his damp shirt on the floor, Naruto dashed into the kitchen, laughing on his way. Sakura turned to Sasuke.

"Even you, Sasuke-kun."

She gave him a small smile before following after Naruto. Sasuke let his towel (courtesy of Sakura) fall off his head as he made his way after her.

**:/**

As Sakura busied about the kitchen, pulling out extra ingredients for the two of them, Sasuke took that moment to take her in. She was wearing baggy pink sweatpants, which dragged the floor as she walked. Her feet were clad in white socks, and she was wearing a baby blue t-shirt. Her cotton-candy hair was up in a messy bun atop her head, strands falling down from her lazy day at home. Her face, he noticed, was make-up free, allowing herself to have a very natural glow about her.

Inside he blanched. _Glow? What the hell?_

He was sick of all this mushy crap going on inside his head. While he could inwardly admit that he liked Sakura (a lot), he had trouble believing his irrational thought processes. Since when did he ever use the word "glow"? "Glow" was just too… girly. I mean, come on.

"Sasuke-kun? Are you okay? You're kinda pink-looking."

His eyes met hers. "I'm fine."

"Okay." She sounded nonchalant, but he could see the concern for him that never left her eyes. He figured it probably never would, no matter how well she tried to hide it.

Okay, wait. He was "pink-looking"?

That was another thing! Every damn time he thought about her his face seemed to flush. Uchihas do not blush, for cryin' out loud! This girl was certainly changing the way he did things. And he did not like it at all.

Naruto, during Sasuke's inner monologue, had taken to sitting atop Sakura's table, letting his feet swing back and forth. He was humming to himself. He frowned as he stopped humming.

"Oi, Sakura-chan! I'm hungry! Can't you go any faster?"

Sakura dropped her spoon into the soup fiercely. "Say what?"

Naruto seemed to rethink his question. "Nothing!"

She sighed. Sometimes her boys were just too much to deal with. Naruto was loud and annoying, though he had calmed down a bit when he hit 17. And Sasuke… well, he had become her least favorite. He had taken to sulking lately, not bothering to walk her home like he used to or smirk when she beat Naruto senseless.

He worried her.

As the big bowl of soup simmered in front of her, Sakura glanced quickly at Sasuke. He was quiet again, his eyes focused on the tabletop.

She had to turn back around as Naruto came up beside her to bother her about her lack of ramen for lunch.

**:D**

Sasuke stirred his chicken noodle soup uneasily. Of course, there was nothing wrong with it. Sakura was a wonderful cook, and he was sure that she would live up to his expectations. It was just…

Sakura kept looking at him. And he was finding it very hard to concentrate on eating.

Naruto was oblivious to both as he inhaled his soup. "It isn't quite like ramen," he remarked, "but it's still pretty damn good."

Sakura tore her gaze away form the Uchiha and smiled at her blonde friend. "Thanks, I think."

Naruto grinned happily, noodles hanging from his mouth. "Yeah, you're such a good cook, Sakura-chan!"

Her smile grew wider. "Maybe so, but I can't bake to save my life!" She lowered her eyes back down to her own meal as she took a big gulp.

"It's… not bad…"

Sakura looked up, surprised. Sasuke had spoken?

"Your baking, I mean. It's okay."

Sakura's face blushed prettily, noodles still hanging from her mouth. She swallowed "Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

"Hn."

He went back to eating his soup. She watched him silently. Since when had Sasuke complimented anyone? Was he not feeling well? Maybe he had caught a cold from the rain?

Just as she was about to comment on that, the lights flickered out with a mighty crack of thunder. Sakura screamed as they were plunged into darkness.

"Calm down, you're fine." Sasuke's voice had gone back to being cold and brisk.

Sakura whimpered. "B-b-but… Sasuke-kun… I hate the d-dark!"

Naruto squeaked. "Me, t-too, Sasuke-teme!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He stood up and headed back into Sakura's kitchen.

"Shut up and stay there. I'll go find some candles."

**:X**

And candles he found. They lined the shelves and many were placed on the coffee table in Sakura's living room. They had moved to her couch, waiting in the darkness for the storm to subside.

Naruto stretched and yawned loudly. He lay back against her sofa.

"Ne, Sakura-chan! How long will the lights be out?"

Sakura sighed. "Shut up, Naruto! I don't know!"

"Well, let's play a game!"

Sasuke raised a brow. "Game, dobe?"

"Yes! A game!" The blonde sat up and smiled.

"Truth or dare!"

Sakura and Sasuke both looked at him.

"No."

Naruto frowned. "Why not, why not!? It'll be fun!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. Every time I play Truth or Dare with you I end up stripping. I never understand how you do it."

"Ne, ne, Sakura-chan. It's not my fault you feel like taking your clothes off whenever I dare you to." Naruto sniggered.

She punched his arm lightly. Well, _lightly_ to Sakura.

"OW! Sakura-chan, I think you broke my arm!!"

**XD**

Several minutes later, after healing Naruto's "broken" arm, Sakura leaned back into the couch with the loud sigh.

"Why can't the lights come back on?"

"Why don't we play a ga-" Naruto began.

Sasuke rolled his eyes again. "No games."

"What about-"

"No singing, either."

Just as he was about to suggest a rousing game of Uno, there was a loud BAM! The house shook and the windows flew open, blowing out their candles and casting them into darkness. Sasuke's eyes widened as a kunai flew from the open window and straight towards Sakura…

**T_T**

**So, there it goes. I'm not that crazy about this chapter. The idea started off great in my head, but as the story wound on, it grew more and more unpleasant. But, whatever. Yeah, I know I haven't updated in a while. I'm just the type of person whose imagination only works when it want to. **

**So, I'm not making any promises about an update. Sorry! We'll just see where the tide takes us on this mighty ocean we call life…**

'**Til later, **

**NA**


	5. Knight

She was way too close.

He could count every blonde eyelash framing her icy blue eyes. She squirmed in his lap and inwardly he groaned.

"Shikaaaa!"

Ino cocked her head to the side and pouted. She leaned forward to nuzzle his neck. "Come home with me," she purred against his ear, her arms clinging to his neck.

"Ino, you're drunk."

She squirmed again and his breath hitched. Luckily she was too intoxicated to notice.

"Shika-kuuun" – he resisted the urge to roll his eyes – "we've been teammates for _years_. You honestly can't say you haven't thought about it." She smiled in an attempt to be seductive, but her shaky grin only served to be unbearably cute. Maybe he was a little drunk too.

"I haven't."

Hurt flashed through her eyes, but disappeared in an instant. "Then imagine it."

She was staring at his mouth in a way he found _extremely disconcerting_ and stroking the pad of her thumb across his cheek. His face flushed.

"Ino. Seriously. You're way too drunk. I think you should go home."

She grinned again. "Let's go then!"

Shikamaru removed her hands from his face. "Alone."

The hurt was back, and though she was making a valiant effort to contain it, her drunken state overrode her logic. Tears stung at the corners of her eyes, and guilt washed over him. He sighed.

"Fine. Don't cry. I'll walk you home."

This time her smile was more like herself. She stood up a little too quickly, grabbing his arm for support. When he stood, she didn't let go; instead, she reached down to firmly grasp his hand in hers.

"Lead on, my knight."

He glanced down at their hands, then back up to her face.

"…troublesome."

**I'm writing again! Just short drabbles here and there, but still! I have more ideas for this, but I felt it was enough here. **


	6. Piano

On Monday, Sakura wrote a solo.

It wasn't her masterpiece. It wasn't even finished. But she had written it herself and she was proud. As she pressed the keys on her piano and hummed the lyrics to herself, she couldn't help but smile. It had been so long since she had felt inspired by music.

The evening sunlight poured in through her window, warming the room and sending shadows scattering across the floor. The blonde on her bed shut his book lightly.

"You know, Sakura, you really should sing the lyrics instead of just humming them."

Papers and textbooks surrounded him on the bed as he laid on his stomach, his head held up and his deep blue eyes looking straight at her. He smiled his heart-shattering smile.

Sakura smiled weakly back. "Naruto, I haven't sung in such a long time. It would sound terrible."

His smile shone on. "You know it wouldn't. Your voice is amazing, Sakura."

Her fingers stopped moving. "Let's finish, shall we?"

Her distraction worked. He re-opened his medical text and she came to sit beside him on the bed, sheet music abandoned on the piano bench.


End file.
